McDonald’s Entices Customers with Kiosks

Touchscreen ordering is spreading to more of the QSR’s U.S. locations.

February 23, 2017

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Touchscreen ordering is a common sight at many U.S. convenience store chains, such as Wawa, Sheetz, Royal Farms, Rutter’s, QuickChek and QuikTrip, to name a few—but now QSRs are jumping into the fray.

The Palm Beach Post reports that McDonald’s is wooing customers with ordering kiosks, with at least 15 McDonald’s restaurants now offering self-order kiosks and table service. “As part of the upgrades, the McDonald’s locations have also remodeled their dining areas in an effort to make the spaces more modern and inviting for customers,” notes the news source.

The kiosks allow customers to skip the line at the service counter by placing their orders via touchscreens, which also allow diners to customize their orders. Then, meals are delivered to customers at their table.

“The customers love it and they are enjoying having the employees interact with them,” Michele Heisner, who owns 14 McDonald’s locations in Florida’s Palm Beach County, told the news source.

Heisner added that the kiosks help the QSR create a “stress-free” experience for customers, allowing employees to help customers with extra napkins, ketchup and drink refills. “A better experience just makes for happier guests,” Heisner told the news source. “We are trying to create an atmosphere that allows them to enjoy their visit.”

McDonald’s began rolling out the self-serve kiosks last year in select markets including Florida, New York City and Southern California. The news source writes that the kiosks have so far been installed in more than 500 U.S. restaurants and 2,600 McDonald’s locations around the world.

In Florida alone, of the 84 McDonald’s locations between Boca Raton and Sebastian, 59 are expected to have the new kiosks by year’s end.

Canadian McDonald’s with the kiosks have led to higher sales, and in the U.K., kiosk usage increased from 18% to 25% of in-restaurant orders over an 18-month period.

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